Cheap Flights to Beijing  

There’s not a more dynamic city on the planet right now than Beijing. China’s capital has a new role on the world stage thanks to the country’s economic boom and the city, with its wide boulevards, modern office towers and ancient landmarks looks every bit a world city. Local neighborhoods where you can visit old courtyard homes known as Hutongs is highly recommended. Get yourself a tour guide – they charge very little – and take a walking tour of the old charming neighborhoods. Beijing is safe and clean but pollution is an ongoing problem. The city is still basking in the glory of its successful staging of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games – touted as the best ever – and you can bet it will be bidding for other major cultural and sporting events in the years to come. Don’t forget to visit the city’s famed Silk Market, where you can get knockoff designer souvenirs for just a fraction of the real price.
 

Currency: The Yuan – 1 Canadian dollar equals about 6.55 yuan

Best time to visit: Spring and Fall – avoid the heat, humidity and pollution of the summer months.

Getting around: Cabs are very cheap and safe – make sure you get them at hotels – but the city’s new subway system, developed for the 2008 Olympic Games, is now one of the best and most modern in the world and very cheap!

Our favorite hotel: The Raffles (www.raffles.com) – This beauty is located just steps away from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace and is where the late Chairman Mao once entertained foreign dignitaries and his girlfriends.

Our favorite restaurant: Wow! There’s so many to choose from. But our favorite is the Hotpot Paradise (40 Dongzhong Street in Beijing’s Dongcheng district next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel) - Ordinarily an informal affair, hot-pot gets the upscale treatment at branches of this swish chain (also called Ding Ding Xiang). The mixed-vegetable platter and the sampler dish of Inner Mongolian lamb will give you plenty of things to simmer, and go well with either the mushroom broth or the herbal black-chicken soup.